20 APRIL 2020 - BOUTON, IOWA: A spreader applies fertilizer to a field near Bouton. Iowa farmers are prepping their fields for the 2020 season. The relatively mild winter and dry spring has allowed farmers to get into their fields 1 - 2 weeks earlier than last year. Farmers and agricultural workers are considered "essential" workers in Iowa and not subjected to the coronavirus restrictions nonessential workers are. Farmers usually work by themselves, and social distancing guidelines have not impacted them as much as it has workers in Iowa's cities. PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ